Thomson-csf Semiconducteurs Specifiques

Jean-Alain Cortiula

Yvon Cazaux

Jean Marine

A charge/voltage conversion device of a CCD type charge transfer read register comprises a read diode and a read amplifier, wherein the read amplifier comprises a first amplification stage enabling the conversion, into current variations (.DELTA.I), of the voltage variations (.DELTA.Vg) collected at the terminals of the read diode and a second amplification stage enabling a reading to be made of said current variations. The disclosed device can be applied especially to photosensitive devices enabling the conversion of a light image into an electrical signal.

CCD register read amplifier

A CCD type charge-transfer photosensitive device (Z1) comprises a photosensitive zone (Z2) formed by at least one line of pixels and designed for the conversion, into electrical charges, of the photons coming from an image and a non-photosensitive zone designed to remove the charges generated in the photosensitive zone and comprising a read register (RL) consisting of transfer stages (ET), the charges generated in a pixel of the photosensitive zone (Z1) being collected in a transfer stage of the read register, wherein the read register (RL) is formed by Q elementary sub-registers Rj (j=1, 2, . . . , Q), each elementary sub-register being formed by a whole number Mj of transfer stages (ET) enabling the transfer of the charges from the first-order stage up to the M order stage, M possibly being different for two different elementary sub-registers, and a read diode located in the M order transfer stage so as convert the variations of charges collected at the terminals of the diode into voltage variations. The disclosure can be applied especially to the photosensitive devices requiring the removal of the charges at a high rate.

Multiple output CCD type charge transfer read register

The invention concerns a charge-to-voltage converter including a read diode and a read transistor of no-load gain G.sub.o. The converter includes complementary circuits assuring a conversion gain greater than G.sub.o during read periods and a conversion gain substantially equal zero at other times.

Controlled feedback charge-to-voltage converter

A CCD shift register having a reading device, or charge/voltage conversion device, at one end. This reading device or charge/voltage conversion device includes a diode, a precharging transistor, and an amplifier with high input impedance. To improve the efficiency of the charge transfer and, more generally, the behavior of the register, especially at high frequencies, it is proposed to shape the final gate of the register, and the diode, in such a way that the width along which the gate is adjacent to the diode (i.e. the width along which the end of the channel is adjacent to the diode) is great while, at the same time, the diode surface area is kept small.

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Claix, France

Jean-Alain Cortiula